Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao (cocoa) plant. For more information on the cocoa bean and its use as a spice see this site's spice guide entry for the cocoa bean. However, the seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and need to be processed to make it palatable and to develop the flavour. The beans

Cocoa pods are harvested by cutting them from the tree using a machete, or by knocking them off the tree using a stick. It is important to harvest the pods when they are fully ripe, because if the pod is unripe, the beans will have a low cocoa butter content, or low sugar content, reducing the ultimate flavour. and their surrounding pulp are removed from the pods and placed in piles or bins to ferment. Micro-organisms, present naturally in the environment, ferment the pectin-containing material. Yeasts produce ethanol, lactic acid bacteria produce lactic acid, and acetic acid bacteria produce acetic acid. The fermentation process, which takes up to seven days, also produces several flavor precursors, that eventually provide the chocolate taste.

After fermentation, the beans must be dried to prevent molud growth. Climate and weather permitting, this is done by spreading the beans out in the sun from five to seven days. In some growing regions (for example, Tobago), the dried beans are then polished for sale by 'dancing the cocoa': spreading the beans onto a floor, adding oil or water, and shuffling the beans against each other using bare feet.

There is an alternative maturing process known as 'moist incubation'. Here, the beans are dried without fermentation. The nibs are then removed and hydrated in an acidic solution. They are heated for 72 hours and dried again. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that the incubated chocolate had higher levels of Strecker aldehydes, and lower levels of pyrazines.

The dried beans are then roasted and then the shell is removed to produce nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, unadulterated chocolate in rough form. Once the cocoa mass is liquefied by heating, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor may also be cooled and processed into its two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Baking chocolate, also called bitter chocolate, contains cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions without any added sugar. Powdered baking cocoa, which contains more fibre than cocoa butter, can be processed with alkali to produce Dutch cocoa. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and added vegetable oils and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk, but no cocoa solids.

In terms of its etymology, cocoa is a variant of cacao, likely due to confusion with the word coco. It is ultimately derived from kakaw(a), but whether that word originates in Nahuatl or a Mixe-Zoquean language is the subject of substantial linguistic debate. Chocolate is a Spanish loanword, first recorded in English in 1604, and first recorded in Spanish in 1579. The word for chocolate drink in early Nahuatl texts is cacahuatl meaning "cacao water", which chocolate does not immediately derive from.

Drinking chocolate was the original form in the Americas, and this remained the typical means of consumption after its introduction in Europe until the end of the 18th century. Tablets, facilitating the consumption of chocolate under its solid form, have been produced since the early 19th century. Cailler (1819) and Menier (1836) are early examples. In 1830, chocolate is paired with hazelnuts, an innovation due to Kohler. Meanwhile, new processes that sped the production of chocolate emerged early in the Industrial Revolution. In 1815, Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten introduced alkaline salts to chocolate, which reduced its bitterness. A few years thereafter, in 1828, he created a press to remove about half the natural fat (cocoa butter) from chocolate liquor, which made chocolate both cheaper to produce and more consistent in quality. This innovation introduced the modern era of chocolate, allowing the mass-production of both pure cocoa butter and cocoa powder. English chocolatier Joseph Fry discovered a way to make chocolate more easily mouldable when he mixed the ingredients of cocoa powder and sugar with melted cocoa butter. Subsequently, in 1866 his chocolate factory, Fry's, launched the first mass-produced chocolate bar, Fry's Chocolate Cream, and they became very popular.[42] Milk had sometimes been used as an addition to chocolate beverages since the mid-17th century, but in 1875 Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate by mixing a powdered milk developed by Henri Nestlé with the liquor. In 1879, the texture and taste of chocolate was further improved when Rudolphe Lindt invented the conching machine

Today, chocolate is the second most common food flavouring after vanilla.

The alphabetical list of all the chocolate-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 374 recipes in total:

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Double Chocolate Muffins      Origin: New Zealand	Hot Chocolate Fondants      Origin: Britain	Microwave Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting      Origin: Britain
Double Chocolate Puddings      Origin: New Zealand	Il mio Tiramisu      Origin: Italy	Microwave Fudge Sauce      Origin: Britain
Drunken Chili      Origin: American	Indulgent Cherry Chocolate Cake      Origin: British	Mince Pie Tiffin Bites      Origin: Britain
Dulse and Chocolate Bouchons      Origin: France	Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix      Origin: American	Mincemeat Baklava Rolls      Origin: Fusion
Duncan Hines Deluxe Dark Chocolate Cake Mix Cake      Origin: American	Instant Pot Triple Chocolate Cheesecake      Origin: Britain	Mini Chocolate Cupcakes      Origin: Britain
Easter Cake Pops      Origin: Britain	Intensely Chocolatey Sables      Origin: France	Mint Chocolate Brownies      Origin: American
Easter Chocolate Cupcakes      Origin: Britain	Izakaya Sakura Kuro (Japanese Black Curry)      Origin: Japan	Mint Chocolate Meringue Cheesecake      Origin: American
Easter Cupcakes      Origin: American	Kannoli tal-Irkotta (Ricotta-filled Cannelloni)      Origin: Malta	Mispelkuchen mit Ingwer (Gingered Medlar Chocolate Cake)      Origin: Austria
Easter Egg Cheesecakes      Origin: Britain	Kastaneli Pasta (Chestnut Cake)      Origin: Turkey	Mississippi Mud Cake      Origin: American
Easter Lemony Chocolate Cake      Origin: Britain	Katsu-karē (Cutlet Curry with Black Curry Sauce)      Origin: Japan	Mississippi Mud Pie      Origin: American
Easter Trifle      Origin: British	Kekstorte (German Biscuit Cake)      Origin: Germany	Mississippi Mud Pie      Origin: British
Easter White Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake      Origin: Britain	Keres Choklet (Cherry Chocolate Biscuits)      Origin: England	Mocha Frappé      Origin: American
Elderberry and Chocolate Muffins      Origin: Britain	Kirsebærkage (Cherry Cake)      Origin: Denmark	Mocha Fudge      Origin: British
Fedt Kager (Melting Moments)      Origin: Denmark	Kiwi Biscuits      Origin: New Zealand	Moelleux au Chocolat Amande (Chocolate Cake with Almond Topping)      Origin: Cameroon
Fir Cone Tartlets      Origin: Britain	Koeki di Pinda y Chuculati (Peanut and Chocolate Chip Cookies)      Origin: Aruba	Moist Chocolate Sponge Cake      Origin: Ireland
Flourless Chocolate Cake      Origin: British	Koko Alaisa (Cocoa Rice Pudding)      Origin: Samoa	Mole Negro      Origin: Mexico
Fondant baulois (Baule fondant)      Origin: France	Kransekage Konfekt (Almond Allsorts)      Origin: Denmark	Molleux chocolat cour de framboise (Chocolate Tarts with Raspberry Filling)      Origin: France
Frozen Grapes, Chocolate and Aguardiente      Origin: Fusion	Krem Sokola (Chocolate Cream)      Origin: Turkey	Mont Blancs      Origin: France
Fruity Skewers with Chocolate Dipping Sauce      Origin: Britain	Kwarezimal (Maltese Lenten Cake)      Origin: Malta	Mousse au chocolat et caramel au beurre salé (Chocolate Mousse with Salted Butter Caramel)      Origin: France
Fudge Frosting      Origin: American	La Torta Tre Monti (Sammarinese Three Mountain Cake)      Origin: San Marino	Mulled Wine Yule Stump Cake      Origin: Britain
Gâteau Caraque      Origin: France	Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies      Origin: Britain	Namibischer Bananenkuchen (Namibian Banana Cake)      Origin: Namibia
Gâteau marbré chocolat poire (Marbled Chocolate Yoghurt Cake)      Origin: France	Lavender Harvest Fudge      Origin: Britain	No-cook Chocolate Silk Tarts      Origin: American
Gaelic Fruit      Origin: Scotland	Le molleux au chocolat (Chocolate Fudge Cake)      Origin: France	Nutella Swirl Banana Muffins      Origin: Britain
Galletas de quinua y chocolate (Quinoa and Chocolate Biscuits)      Origin: Bolivia	Ledene Kocke (Ice-cube Sponge Cake)      Origin: Serbia	Nutty Fridge Cake      Origin: American
Gâteau à la patate douce et chocolat (Sweet Potato and Chocolate Cake)      Origin: New Caledonia	Leftover Porridge Muffins      Origin: Scotland	Oozy Orange Cupcakes      Origin: American
Gelo d'Anguria (Sicilian Watermelon Folly)      Origin: Italy	Lemon Cake Mix Chocolate Cake      Origin: American	Orenau wedi Llenwi (Stuffed Oranges)      Origin: Welsh
Gluten-free Vanilla Chocolate Cake      Origin: British	Linden Chocolate      Origin: France	Papuan Banana Cake      Origin: Papua New Guinea
Grasshopper Cheesecake      Origin: American	Linden Chocolate Mississippi Mud Pie      Origin: American	Papuan Banana Cake      Origin: Papua
Guinness Cake      Origin: Ireland	Linzer Torte      Origin: Germany	Peanut Clusters      Origin: Britain
Guinness Pudding      Origin: Ireland	Marquise au Chocolat      Origin: France	Peli Rwm Nadolig (Christmas Rum Balls)      Origin: Welsh
Hazelnut Clusters      Origin: British	Marshmallow Easter Eggs      Origin: American	Peppermint Patties      Origin: American
Hazelnut crêpes with caramelised bananas      Origin: Britain	Microwave Chocolate and Whisky Syllabub Shells      Origin: Britain	Pistachio and White Chocolate Burfi      Origin: Anglo-Indian
Highland Toffee      Origin: Scotland	Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jam Brownie      Origin: Britain
Home-made Creme Eggs      Origin: Britain	Microwave Chocolate Sponge Pudding      Origin: Britain

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